Compare

Familial structures and domestic activities play a major role in virtually every culture. It is not surprising, then, that they have often provided fodder for visual artists. Images of home interiors, with or without their inhabitants, might reveal a great deal about the realities of domestic life in a particular time and place. On the other hand, it is just as likely that they are records of social ideals and cultural values.

Questions to Consider

What is the relationship between the people and their homes in each of these images? How do the people define the space? How does the space define the people? What do you think each artist is trying to achieve with his work?

Both the seventeenth-century painting by Olis and the twentieth-century photograph by Evans can be discussed in terms of “realism.” What might this term mean relative to each image?

Who were the intended audiences for each of these images? In what way, if at all, would those viewers have related to the domestic experiences of the families depicted? In what ways might these scenes of private life have resonated with the social, political, economic, or other concerns of the broader public?